Schemes of Evil
by Krivoklatsko
Summary: You, a simple peasant, have come to Master Yen Sid to ask "What does evil do?" His response is the story of a lifetime.
1. The Mighty Wizard

You find yourself at the base of a tower, probably the one you were looking for, unless places like this are common. The train that took you here has moved onto its next destination, through the arcane portals that somehow connect worlds, and you are left with a sense of trepidation. But there's no point going back now. You drew the short straw. You were chosen by your village. Now it's time to get some answers.

As you reach your hand to the door, it opens. The wizard knows his guests; he's no fool, and the hour of your arrival was known to him possibly before you were born. As you step inside, you're trying desperately to remember all of the etiquette you've ever known. You are in the presence of the mighty Yen Sid, after all, although you cannot yet see him. Slowly, respectfully, you take every step up a flight of wayward stairs until you reach the highest point, where a single door denotes that you are finally but a foot from your goal. Again, with a toad in your throat, and a wrench in your gut, you raise your hand to knock. This time the door holds, and a voice that commands the stars calls you to enter. You do, and are relieved to note that the mighty sorcerer is not quite as egotistical as the stories make him out to be. In fact, he is sitting at his desk, patiently waiting for you to take a seat in a rather comfortable looking chair opposite his. Of course, you're so busy staring at him like a fool and trying to figure out whether you should address him as "your majesty,""Your greatness," or "Great Master," that you only stand there and gawk.

He motions with his hand, and you hastily fall into the seat rather than collapsing on the floor.

"Please," he says. "Make yourself comfortable."

You are silent as you contemplate his warm smile, and decide that you should make a show of adjusting your weight in the chair before you nod, despite the fact that you couldn't possibly not be comfy in it. His eyes twinkle at that, the way a father's would at a child, and you suddenly don't feel so grown up in the presence of what could be the oldest person alive.

"You drew the short straw?"

You nod, slightly embarrassed.

"Well?"

It's the moment of truth. You have to say something to him. Your mouth opens, and, miraculously, your voice says, "What does evil do?"

Master Sid nods appreciatively, and sits back in his chair. "An interesting question. A wise man would tell you that it destroys worlds and corrupts hearts, that it feeds on the weak. However, the correct answer would be to first define it by what it does not do."

You lean forward in anticipation, although you don't quite realize it.

"Evil does not rest. It is active. As such, pain and suffering are only the effects, its wake, so to speak. Princes have come to me asking for secrets that do not exist, elixers of life and the such, and sorcerers have come seeking spells that defy reality, but you are one of the few who come to me with a question unblemished by angle."

You don't quite understand, but it was a compliment from a great sorcerer, so you smile awkwardly, not sure if you're worthy of thanking him. His hand wraps around a large, transparent sphere on the edge of the desk, and he slides it to the center.

"'What does evil do?' you ask. Well, Evil schemes."

You nod, and then realize with a sense of dread that he has answered the question. But it can't be that simple. You know that if you return to your village with that answer, they won't even believe you made it farther than the mountains. They'll just think you got drunk for a month and stumbled back with two words to show for it. But what can you say to Master Yen Sid? _Please make it more complicated?_

He smiles, a warm, inviting gesture, and then nods at the crystal ball and places his fingers around it. It ripples, and for a moment you think that it could be filled with water, but soon color emerges and warps around until it sharpens into the star of your nightmares, Maleficent. You look up at Master Sid with shock, and he returns it with smugness. "You didn't think I would send you back to your village with just two words, did you?"

It dawns on you that you are an honored guest. Today, and possibly longer, you will gaze into the crystal ball of Master Yen Sid, and personally "Observe: the Schemes of Evil."

* * *

**Quite a punderful last sentence, yes?**

**Yes, it's a remake of the first thing I ever wrote.**

**However, it's not as similar as you'd think. ;)**


	2. Nobody is Heartless

Master Sid returns his eyes to the Crystal ball between you and says, "Chapter One: Nobody is Heartless."

And as you follow his eyes, you lose yourself and simply become an observer to a world you are immersed in. And the next thing you now, you stand beyond the boundaries of reality, in The World That Never Was.

* * *

"A callous heart can lose control... Can die, and with it, take the soul."

Malefient's voice hummed poetry to Shadows who once had names as they patrolled the streets of a city for the remnants of the Nobodies. Ironic, considering they never existed in the first place. Neon lights blinked and sparked for as far as the eye could see, illuminating Neoshadows that tore smoke from the Dusks they battled, while Behemoths razed entire buildings to weed out the few Nobodies with enough wits to hide. Wyverns had the same job for the ones smart enough to run.

"So often hearts are led astray, unwary eyes they soon betray."

The organization had been driven out the night before, set to rest by a child of all things. But Maleficent, being ever so good at spending her time, was already at work. She had found the notes Xemnas was oh so kind to leave behind, and had sifted through leaf after leaf until her plot was complete. Now it was just a matter of cleaning the house before she left.

"The heart is evil; no master does it obey."

Her attention turned away from the battle, to the heart behind her, The Heart of all Worlds.

"Isn't that right?"

She grinned at the lack of response to her rhetoric, and turned back to her magnificent view.

"Diablo, fetch Pete."

The raven alighted from her shoulder, where it had seemed only an extension of her robe, and dove out of view.

Ruling the darkness had been a bit of a stretch for a fairy. Maleficent knew she could never truly have power over Kingdom Hearts, or be imbued with its dominion. That was territory reserved for humans. But it didn't mean she couldn't stop anyone else from getting to it. What was once a humble pipe-dream she had made from a ramshackle castle in Hollow Bastion was now a reality. Anyone, ANYONE who dared to seek the power of kingdom hearts would have to pass through a land ruled by her heartless hordes. And first they would have to pass through the World Terminus, a desolate plane that only drops downward into the pits of the subconscious, where the only light is what little can be carried in your pockets. Maleficent grinned at the thought of so many fools coming ill equipped for horrors that ravaged the mind. She grinned even wider at what they could find here, but an outcry sounded below her in the distance and she returned her attention to the present. A building full of some remnant nobodies had just been discovered, sparking another large skirmish. A party of several people had faced a Behemoth that made quick work of the two that charged it. The others, spell casters it seemed, turned and fled into the claws of Gargoyles and Wyverns.

* * *

Everyone hides in the dark. When the sun sets and monsters make themselves known, everyone looks for a shadow to crawl into. And just so, three Nobodies whom even the Organization rejected found themselves seeking shelter in a building with no apparent function, on a street that had no name.

Two, in the corner, were hugging each other for support while the third leaned against a wall and watched out a crack in the blinds as a Behemoth turned onto the street.

"That would explain the shaking."

It rammed its mass into the building on the corner and set to work crushing the Dusks and Assassins that leaped into combat from the now broken hallways they had been mindlessly patrolling. The man on the wall tensed, destroying all faith the other two had in survival.

"This might be bad." The last of the Dusks fell and the Behemoth moved several steps closer to their hiding spot. It stopped when it reached the next building and repeated the process, much to the mock horror of the two Nobodies in the corner. The one on the wall stood off of it and opened the nearest door. He examined the corridor outside and then returned with a grim face.

"Get up. We have to move. Lexillie?"

The girl stood with the help of the other man they had found on the road to survival and nodded at the one whose name hadn't been mentioned.

"Lei Lei, please."

"You used to live here?"

She nodded. "Down the hallway, but I know the whole building. Before the city was... wasn't..."

He cut her off.

"Wasn't, right. We need to leave without using roof access or ending up on the streets. Is there a sewer connection?"

She shook her head, knocking a lock of russet hair loose. The boy next to her replaced it courteously, leading to a moment of gazing into each others eyes that was rudely interrupted.

"Okay. We have to fight it."

They looked at him uncertainly, but he stayed resolute.

"If we try to escape without cover we'll just be easy targets. It's better to take it on while it's distracted by lesser Nobodies."

Lexillie gripped her companion closer, a sort of goodbye hug.

"We can do it. Right, Blaxe?"

"Right."

The third walked to a window and moved the blinds just enough to see that they had several minutes before the Behemoth arrived.

"Alright. Now the tricky part will be to bring it down without anyone noticing. The horn is the weak spot. Remember that. After it sees us, I'd say we have thirty seconds at most before its buddies show up." He reversed his gaze to the other end of the street, the direction of the castle. "And that's assuming the witch is looking the other way."

He snapped his fingers at the lovers, who were too busy kissing to pay attention.

"Hey!"

The broke slowly and glanced at him.

"I don't plan on dying here. Pay attention rather than saying goodbye, yeah?"

They nodded as if they agreed. But the plans of their friend were cut short by the sudden arrival of a massive dark fist that tore a swath of the building from between them. The lovers cowered against the wall for fear of falling over, while the other held a finger to his lips. No one moved for a beat, and then a colossal, dark head appeared with its eye to the fissure. It looked one way, and the lovers squeezed farther into the corner. It looked the other way, and their guardian did the same. The head moved, and lifted its arm from the wreckage as well. Then, as the Darkside wandered into the distance, another rumbling began. The behemoth stopped in front of their building.

"Ready?"

The lovers nodded and summoned weapons that they weren't really proficient with. Lexillie gulped her mock anxiety away. But then the man held up a hand as he looked out the window.

A Dancer Nobody was on the back of the Behemoth, tiptoeing its way to the horn, and throwing in pirouettes for good measure as it made its way. It kicked the appendage as it reached it, and only then did the Behemoth notice its presence and shake it off its back to crush it into the pavement. The guardian gestured to the other two.

"Change of plans. We're gonna hop on its back and lay low."

* * *

"Filthy Creatures."

Maleficent cringed as the building fell to rubble and the Behemoth trudged on over the corpses of its five latest victims.

An uneventful swath of time settled then, and wasn't broken until the dull, fast thumping of Pete's footsteps could be heard.

"N-not to worry your wickedness, I'm coming!" Pete arrived at the top of the stairs winded, and promptly braced himself on his knees while Maleficent pet the stomach of her raven, who had landed on her shoulder with no suddenness.

"Report."

Pete took a final breath and immediately brought himself to attention.

"Uh... most of the Nobodies have been destroyed. The Heartless 'r just finishin' up your majesty."

Pete beamed as if it was his accomplishment.

"Satisfactory. Have you ever heard of the great wizard Saruman, Pete?"

Pete scratched his head while she mumbled, "of course not."

She thought aloud while he picked at his ear.

"After we level the city we will have enough room to supplement the Purebred Heartless forces with Emblem Heartless. Fortunately, Xemnas was kind enough to remember pieces of his past life, and he redrew the design for the machine he left in Hollow Bastion."

She turned to face the heart shaped object behind them; a colossal and beautiful fountain of great light, and great darkness. It was unmistakably The Heart of all Worlds.

"Kingdom Hearts. No longer will the dead be denied to you. The flow of Ch'i shall resume uninterrupted through your veins, and no longer will you be exploited."

Pete ceased his obnoxious grooming to pose a question.

"But, your majesty, how are we goin' to do all that breakin' and building with Sora and friends still around? They'll just show up and smash everything!"

Maleficent smirked.

"An interesting point, Pete. Although I don't believe you understand why. You are under the assumption that I seek to control Kingdom Hearts."

Pete blinked. "Isn't that what you said we were doing?"

"Yes. But that would require the power of a great magician."

Pete blinked again. "Aren't you-"

"No, Pete. I am a fairy. And fairies have limits, while humans have gods and higher callings. We are no longer seeking Kingdom Hearts. We have found it. Now we will guard it from humans, who can unlock its true power. And while they are unable to reach it, we will expand and conquer the worlds with darkness."

Pete thought about his question again. "But that brat-"

"We don't need them anymore. In fact, if they kill heartless, they rebuild kingdom hearts. So really, it's in our best interests to not let that happen."

She smiled again, getting to her nasty point. "It's much easier to kill things than it is to manipulate them. And now that the king's men are gone, we only have to separate and kill the three of them."

Her smile broadened and she reached a more definite conclusion.

"We will strike at their hearts."

Pete beamed as a misdirected intelligent thought accidentally landed in his otherwise empty skull.

"I gets to nab his girlie-friend!"

Maleficent was visibly enraged.

"BUFOON!" She roared, spewing furious green smoke into the air, "Why would I trust someone as incompetent as you to do this when you fail at even the most menial of tasks?"

Pete retracted himself a few feet from Maleficent.

"Besides, we don't have need of her. We're just going to kill her."

Again she smiled. New scenery was not the only reason for her interest in this castle. Every castle has a different library, and she had been reading as soon as her Heartless swarms began sweeping the city. The library in this castle contained a very specific book. It had been completely absent at Hollow Bastion, with only an appendix remaining to prove it's existence. That infernal computer had erased all knowledge of it as well. But she had found it here.

"Do you remember what makes a princess of heart so special, Pete?"

Pete wrinkled his face in thought. What kind of question was that?

"Their hearts are composed entirely of light. They cannot truly understand darkness and it''s motives because they have no experience of it. They are naive in the greatest sense of the word. They are... untouched by the curse of sin. Somehow..."

Pete waited for her to elaborate.

"What do you think would happen if darkness were to penetrate the heart of a princess?"

Now Pete had to talk. He struggled with his words.

"Uh...she-she wouldn't be a princess anymore?"

"She would _die_."

The Heartless swarm responded to her inflection with a frenzy of slashing and gnawing and the last of the remaining nobodies in the city were crushed under the tumultuous rage. All but three, of course.

Pete tried to think about what Maleficent was saying, but found it too difficult.

"How do we do that?- uh, your majesty. Putting darkness in someone's heart sounds kinda technical."

Maleficent produced an ordinary notebook from inside her robe. The Cover bore the words:

**Darkness Enhancing potion, series G-11:**

**Purebred Heartless Potion**

The words "impractical/unnecessary" were scribbled on it as well, but Maleficent returned it to her cloak before Pete finished even reading the title.

"Xemnas was kind enough to leave his journals behind for me. This potion recipe will kill Kairi, if only she can be made to consume it. Did you retrieve the item I sent you for?"

Pete tossed a canvas bag towards Maleficent's feet, and it redirected itself to her outstretched hand. The rhythmic sound of many footsteps could be heard growing louder as she looked into the bag. A mass of heartless in march-step were carrying rare items to the top of the tower. Even laden with Twilight and Darkness Crystals, Lapis Lazuli, Azurite, Silver, crushed Diamonds, molten asbestos, Upas tree bark, and venoms from the vilest of creatures, the Heartless kept time, slave to the beat their mistress willed upon them. Maleficent turned swiftly to the center of their circular vantage point with her staff extended, causing Diablo to adjust his weight uneasily on her shoulder. A cauldron sprang into existence where she had gestured and the heartless began dumping their ingredients inside as it heated and filled with vapor that it sucked from the air.

Pete was excited now. Witchcraft was simply amazing to him.

Maleficent produced a small fruit from the canvas bag and dropped it into to the simple pot, creating a dull plunk in the water. It was a Paopu fruit. A smile crept to her lips as she spoke the opening line of a mock incantation.

"Bubble bubble, you're in trouble."

"I've been worse places."

Military grade boots landed on the platform and a wave of heartless fell to a single well-placed swipe. The offender turned on Pete next and used a single motion to strike just below the kneecap and just above the back of his neck. Pete grabbed both of the injuries and hobbled away in surrender until he found himself rolling down the ramp and out of the fight. But the dull thuds he made on the landings and the cretinous blubbering he made only seemed to serve as frosting for what was possibly a new found relationship between the intruders and Maleficent. She rounded on the stranger without a hint of hostility and didn't seem to care that the hood of his robe concealed his face. The two behind him she simply ignored as weaklings.

"I suppose you want me to do you a favor in return?"

The intruder chuckled, almost audibly over the sounds of slaughter in the city, and nodded.

"I was told you're a powerful witch, but... well..."

"What?"

"You're kind of a fairy. Would you mind if we dug around your library? I'm looking for a really long range teleportation spell. These are my assistants, by the way."

It was an obvious lie, but it covered their safety as an implied factor in any further bargaining. Maleficent nodded her stipulation before continuing.

"You look sinister enough. Why not use the corridors of darkness to get where you're going?"

"I'm trying to go to another galaxy."

His two companions were shying away from him now, and following the exchange with confusion.

"The World Terminus connects, I've heard."

The stranger sighed. "Do you have or know of someone who has a map to that connection? Exploring the darkness is kind of counter productive."

Maleficent raised an annoyed eyebrow at the figure before her and the weapon he was carrying. By all normal means of vision, it was a keyblade. In reality, which was admittably subjective in nothingness, it was a lead pipe with an illusion spell cast on it.

"Who are you? Another misguided fool trying to steal Kingdom Hearts from my grasp?"

The figure glanced at the great heart above them, then back at Maleficent. "That's yours?"

It obviously wasn't controlled by anyone, and Maleficent scowled as her response.

"You've come here seeking a spell that doesn't exist, a map that isn't fathomable, and a what else? A business arrangement that can never be? Get out of here, and takes those sniveling fools with you."

The figure shifted his weight offensively. "Give me a map, a spell, or a clue and a free pass, and I'll be out of your hair."

"No. Now be gone. I have a potion to brew."

The figure didn't move.

"Unless you have something else to offer me? I could use some assistants too you know."

She eyed the lovers, who backed away several steps.

"You're a sociopathic butcher. We're not helping you with anything."

Maleficent thrust her hand up angrily, and the ambiance of war faded to nothing. A piece of rubble fell from its broken place several miles away, and was clearly heard as it clanked, smacked, and plomped to the ground. Every heartless had turned its attention to the castle, and the three Nobodies felt the weight of a hundred-thousand glares.

"You are in no position to bargain. And that trinket you found on the ground is a joke. Aren't Nobodies supposed to have real weapons? Or is yours somehow more embarrassing than those toys?"

She gestured at Lexillie's abacus and Blaxe's quarterstaff.

"Mine is good looks."

She was in no position to argue with the quip, as he made no indication that he would remove his hood and prove it.

"Your perseverance will get you nowhere. You two." She pointed at the lovers.

"Swear your fealty to me now and you will be spared."

They dropped to their knees without a second thought, which didn't bother their would-be guardian. Maleficent returned her gaze to him. "What could you possibly plan on doing now? You can't kill me here, and your only chance of escape would be to run to the edge of reality," she gestured at an infinitely distant point in the city, "or to try your luck in the realm of darkness, which is not a place that Nobodies are welcome."

He looked around at the Heartless army.

"Yeah. but you called most of these Heartless from that realm. So I suppose I'll make a frakking mad dash through the corridors of darkness and pray for the Astronomican's guidance."

He opened a portal to the darkness and disappeared, leaving his diction behind like a flashbang.

* * *

Hours later, the completed potion sat on a table while Maleficent stared at it, lost in thought.

"Diablo. Handle this."

She set the bottle at the end of the table and gestured at it, which made the two Nobodies eye the small fowl suspiciously.

"You two will come with me. I haven't decided what to do with you yet."

* * *

**A/N "Wowzers! I never imagined this story would be so good. 20 chapters and going with very little criticism and... drum roll please... no flames yet!"**

**That was me, about two years ago, talking about the original of this story. As you can see, I was wrong. Last time, everyone was confused. This time, we're going to find out every name, every allegiance, and every single sneeze. **


	3. A Very Brief Rest

Master Yen Sid frowns at the images you just saw in a way that seems neither good nor bad. You watch him with interest, which he notices, and he begins to answer questions you haven't even formulated in your mind yet.

"A Nobody is created whenever a heartless is created. It is the body that stands up again and continues living from a will to survive. The Organization was formed by Xemnas so that Nobodies could get their hearts back, but it seems that he really was just seeking to control Kingdom Hearts for power. Why else would he have excluded anyone?"

You lean forward and ask the questions he hasn't passed over. "Who was that, and why was he pretending to have a keyblade?"

Master Yen Sid taps a finger against the table while he thinks. "He wanted his enemies to be afraid. I do not know who he is."

Your world shatters. "B-but..."

He looks you in the eyes and you see knowledge, wisdom, immense power, and the exotic things beyond your wildest dreams that would take whole lifetimes of adventure to discover, but no room for words like "I don't know. It is as simple as that. No mortal knows everything. But if we continue watching, we could easily find out."

**Chapter 2: A Very Brief Rest  
**

One, two, three figures dissipated as they were beamed into the gummi ship. Sora smiled oddly to himself, sharing the feeling that washed over Riku and Kairi like waves on a beach. Life was back to normal now. The Organization had been vanquished, the Destiny Islands were restored, and Sora, Kairi, and Riku were together again on a little islet all to themselves. The three of them released a collective sigh and fell onto the sand. In hindsight it hadn't been the smartest thing to do- the sand caressed Sora's wet skin the only way it knew how- but with friends, and after all they had done, it was worth it. They lay there, not listening to the waves, not watching the sun set on the horizon, or even taking note of a crow that perched itself upon a Paopu tree nearby. They lay on their backs, holding their hands together, eyes closed, each of them in their own little world, free from darkness and pain. The weight of the worlds was no longer on their shoulders; they were safe here.

"Whoa."

Their eyes shot open to reveal Tidus, Wakka, and Selphie.

"Kairi?"

The three of them stared blankly at their old friends.

"Sora and Riku, too?"

A broad smile slapped everyones faces.

The key bearers rolled onto their stomachs and stood up and practically tackled the other three without bothering to dust themselves off.

None of them remembered their ride back to the mainland of destiny islands, but the partying nearly sunk their miniscule craft. And when their celebration reached the mainland, it nearly sunk that too. Parades and embraces were not in short supply for the rest of the week. Birthdays and Christmasses were made up, medals were assigned, the flags at the schools held stronger in the wind, and the clouds in the sky were dethroned in place of a brilliant sun. Tears of joy wetted the earth with life and a new holiday was declared in honor of the key bearers. A statue was erected, and at its base was placed a letter from King Mickey that arrived in a bottle at the end of the week.

_To the parents of the key bearers,_

_Please accept my apologies for borrowing your kids like this. It was for a good cause._

_Sincerely,_

_King Mickey Mouse_

_P.S. See the back._

No one understood the last part, as there was nothing written on the back of the letter. But merriment was in the air, and the food was good, so a detail like this went unnoticed. After nine days of official citywide celebration, three more keys were given to the trio: the keys to the city. They were also the only keys that could open the lock placed on the glass case protecting the King's letter. It would only be accessed with their permission, by order of the mayor.

As the final day of celebration wore on, citizens began returning to their houses, leaving confetti and candy wrappers lying on every surface that could be imagined. The sun had spent itself and was resting upon the horizon, casting only a bright enough light for everyone to find their ways home and soon, it was gone completely. The moon took its place to govern the night. After the length of the celebration, one lone vendor stood in the plaza of the city, packing his wares into a portable stand. A crow had been circling above him for some time now, or was it a raven? He didn't care (It wasn't his job to know) until it suddenly landed upon his cart.

"Shoo."

It turned to face him.

"Go away, bird. Shoo."

It stared him in the eye. It was a deep, deep gaze. The vendor never knew that birds could give looks like that, looks that could almost put you to sleep. He fell onto his knees, lulled by the gaze of the extraordinary fowl, and then to his side, as he quickly drifted over the waterfall of sleep. Through half closed eyelids, the last thing he saw (or was he already dreaming?) was himself. No, it couldn't be... just a dumb bird.

**.The Crystal ball becomes murky, and resolves into another image.**

Sora turned uncomfortably in his bed, just a slight roll. But a closer look revealed that he was mumbling, "Light makes shadows." And upon further magnification, it was obvious that a cold sweat was pouring from his skin. And if, by the gift of a crystal ball, someone you looked even closer... well...

Sora dodged the shadow that had only just detached from his feet as it sprang into three dimensions and assaulted him with the fury of a thousand blows. It pushed him back to back with Roxas, who was equally busy with another anti-thesis to their being, and they could feel each other's shoulder blades grinding as they parried and swung defensively. The beasts were pouring out from buildings his imagination borrowed from the World That Never Was, swinging in on vines that belonged in the Deep Jungle, and flying in from the sky via pixie dust. And they were coming in large numbers. But one remained in the distance.

"Keep fighting."

Sora parried and swung hard, realizing that he had paused to look at the non-combatant. Roxas swung his blades outward, making an opening for one shadow to rush the center, and then brought the blades together as he twirled to face Sora's back. He placed his foot on Sora's shoulder and hopped up into the air, swirling his keyblades and spewing death, like a helicopter catching meat. Down below, Sora spun around with Fenrir and Ultima, dispelling his attackers with fire before lunging and pounding the ground, sending several more flying in an explosion. He gazed above the horde into the distance, hoping to see and end, some quantifiable limit to this battle. But there, instead of surcease, he saw the same lone being and froze to contemplate it.

It watched idly with golden eyes as the Shadows piled upon him, covering every inch of his body, then constricting and tightening their grasp around him while the figure did nothing. Sora had seen it in past dreams. He and Roxas had been battling it for some time now because, technically, it was one of them too, even if it only saw the light of day for a few minutes in Hollow Bastion.

Roxas pulled Sora from the mass of bodies and threw him away from them.

"Keep fighting!"

The horde continued to pour into the arena of his mind with no end in sight, and Sora paused to reflect upon his predicament. There had never been this many before.

_What if... I can't win, and this is just going to happen forever?_

The Heartless in the distance began to grow.

_How long can I really fight this?_

Now it stood a few feet above the swarm.

_Will there ever be an end?_

"Sora!"

_Am I strong enough?_

"SORA!"

The third other had expanded into a colossal form as doubts grew upon Sora's heart, and

the swarm began to push against Roxas harder than he could fight. Mass times speed equals victory, and dividing the horde by two hadn't helped at all. A claw snuck through his peripheral and tore a hole in the fabric of his cloak when he turned his head just long enough to see Sora, paralyzed in fear, not covering him. It was already the end for them, even if it took a few more minutes.

The now giant heartless began advancing, sealing the deal. But Roxas' hands were a blur of furious swinging, parrying, and blocking nonetheless. He had no intention of going down under any circumstances. He had seen worse; he'd always seen worse. Roxas unleashed the footwork he knew so well to cover all of sides he had. He spun and swooped down with both blades to crush smoke, and then he lifted off of the ground in a fit of effort. Sora could only watch in defeated awe as Roxas swingung his keyblades in wild arcs around his body so that the momentum of his srikes kept him suspended above the ground just long enough for the next skillful attack. The giant heartless towered above them now, close enough to even crush them. But it raised its hand up high instead. Sora and Roxas reeled as one as their heart began to loose rhythm, and fell to the ground. There were competing drum beats in the arena now. Far, far above them, where Sora's eyes followed the hand's reach, was his heart. It was happening; the darkness within him was finally taking control, proven by the spreading darkness. A keyblade freed just enough bodies from the mass on Roxas for him to scream, "Sora! Move it or you're never gonna see Kairi again!"

_Kairi._

This was something he could not doubt. Suddenly, he felt himself released from fear, and he sprang into action. Sora flung himself onto the pile, then threw his weight into a jump that set him on top of a flying shadow. He couldn't jump all the way up to his objective, it was too far, too high.

_Too high for Kairi? Never._

He poured his effort into throwing himself as far as he could. Every inch was strained out of the momentum his legs could generate and he glided perfectly towards the gargantuan figure before him, almost soaring, but still he knew he wouldn't make it all the way. Or at least his body wouldn't. He came within fifty feet of the great beast that his doubt had spawned and challenged its magnificent golden eye with a look of his own as he curled himself into a twisted ball.

_As long as I live, there will never be room for you- only Kairi and my friends._

"Aero!"

Sora unraveled like a spring, hurdling Fenrir at the Heartless with an extra kick from an arcane gust. It struck home, and the challenging beat disappeared. The horde that had occupied Roxas suddenly faltered and deformed into wisps of smoke that swiftly retracted back to the shadows in his mind, and the giant heartless shedded its volume as it shrieked poison and vulgarity from the depths of its innards, contorting itself into the most horrible of disfigurements in sudden jerky movements until it had returned to its normal size, panting on its hands and knees. Roxas stood readied himself for another assault while Sora landed in a defensive crouch, but their enemy was already defeated. He looked up at Roxas with a free sneer, or whatever it could be called coming from a shrouded face. And then, for the first time ever, it spoke, albeit in a gurgling wheeze.

"You defend his control over you..."

Roxas and Sora both retracted a step, but only Roxas took a more aggressive stance.

"What did you say?"

"Why is it that Sora has to be in charge? Why not you? Why do we get to see Kairi so often, and not Naminé?"

Roxas' began shaking with fury at the mention of her name.

"Who put them in charge and shackled us to the subconscious?"

"Oh!" The creature gasped, "Speaking of the princess-"

Roxas charged the cretin and swung with all his might. "Shut up!"

But it was too quick. It had stood, bowed mockingly, and vanished before the strike reached it. Roxas was rooted to the spot, not quite able to vent the anger that had taken him over, and he served as the only constant while the limitless arena slowly took on the shapes and sizes familiar to Sora's room. Sora looked at his other half with a newfound sense of something profound, a mix of guilt and sorrow.

"Do I- do you think of me that way?"

Roxas didn't respond.

"I'm... sorry I panicked. I didn't-"

"Sora."

Roxas didn't turn to face his other.

"Wake up. Find Naminé."

"Uh… you mean Kairi?"

Roxas glared, and Sora found himself lost for words as his life snapped into perspective.

"Um... Thank you, Roxas."

Roxas nodded as the room finished taking its blurry form around them.

"Go."

Sora awoke in his bed, drenched in sweat, just as the sun broke over the horizon into his eyes.

"Sora, honey! Breakfast is ready! Time to get up!"

That was a sound for sore ears, but the combined assault of so many stimulants on his senses make his head do something nasty. He curled into a ball with his knees over his ears and tried to remember why everything would be so uncomfortable.

_Kairi._

Sora jumped to his feet and summoned his Keyblade.

"Sora, honey?"

No time for breakfast. He had to act now. Sora jumped through his window and landed on the path below, running.

"Sora? Sora where are you?"

She would kill him for sure, but he had to be sure Kairi was alright.

"SORA!"

He picked up his pace.

**.Again, the Crystal ball blurs before sharpening into another image.**

Space, several miles away from Hollow Bastion, might have been disturbed by the gummi ship that suddenly decided to cut its dash drive if it weren't so aptly named. But, of course, space _was_ aptly named, so Donald, Goofy, and King Mickey heard no objection.

They hailed the control tower, which was actually just Cid, half-asleep and half caffeinated, reclining in his chair with a book over his face. He responded before he woke up.

"Shite. Er- tower. What?"

King Mickey was not impressed.

"This is Highwind, Requesting docking and fueling clearance."

Cid rummaged through some papers and found a docking list.

"You're clear for pad two."

Donald tapped impatiently on his console while he waited for the proper coordinates to be sent, but his eye was quickly caught by a flickering star. He watched it with mild interest as his fingers tapped, and soon he was joined by Mickey and Goofy, who found its ascending brilliance interesting. In a sudden flicker, it was gone. They all blinked, and then exchanged glances.

Mickey nodded. "We're fueling up and leaving straight away."

Donald's console beeped its receipt.


	4. Salty, Not Sweet

At this point Master Yen Sid seems bothered by something. But he won't say what it is unless you ask him, and you have no intentions of speaking unless you're spoken to, so you continue to watch the crystal ball as it takes on yet another image.

* * *

"Salty... no, sweet!"

Kairi and Naminé dangled their legs over the edge of the Station Tower while they snacked on the town's local culinary phenomenon.

"See? I told you so."

Kairi nodded her acquiescence. Naminé had been pretty adamant about the idea that salty and sweet went well together, regardless of the way it sounded. She finished her ice cream and dropped the leftover stick onto the plaza below them, where it promptly vanished when they stopped paying attention to it.

"Kairi, what do you think Roxas and Sora dream about?"

Kairi licked her ice cream stick and thought about it.

"I like to think that he dreams about when we first met."

Namine smiled. "When you washed up on the shore and he found you."

Kairi smiled inwardly as she remembered coughing up water and seeing his silly grin.

"Hey Naminé, when did you first meet Roxas?"

Naminé's grin broadened, but faded to a melancholy look almost as quickly.

"It's not a happy story like yours," she murmured.

"Oh come on, it couldn't be that bad with a smile like that!"

Naminé let out her grin to play again.

"Well, he kind of helped me..."

Kairi leaned toward her in anticipation.

"Do you want to see it?" Naminé asked as her eyebrows rose. Ever since they had first met, or perhaps re-met, Namine and Kairi had been exchanging stories of their lives as they slept. With only limited time to discuss whole lifetimes, they practiced showing their stories instead of telling them.

Kairi nodded, and Twilight Town was quickly replaced by Castle Oblivion, where the two of them sat in perfectly white chairs in the unused corner of a perfectly white room. The center of the room was occupied by a perfectly white table at which an image of Naminé sat in a perfectly white dress, drawing on perfectly white paper. She was meticulous in her work, carefully inscribing every detail of her artistic vision within her note pad. After all they were her memories, even if she gave them to other people. It was only a short moment though before the serenity of her motions was ruined by the arrival of a savage element. Larxene entered the room from behind Naminé's chair with all the silence of a nuclear winter, and somehow managed to keep herself clandestine as she took three luscious steps forward to look over the artist's shoulder. Naminé had just finished with the spikier parts of Sora's hair, and turned to her pencil box for some colors. Larxene spat on the page with a sneer that contorted her otherwise flawless features, alerting Naminé to her presence. The green and brown putrescence was typical of the things coming out of her mouth. Namine jerked her head and froze in the cold silence that descended as the mucous dripped along the entire image and spread through to the next page. She ripped it from her notebook in an attempt to salvage the rest of her art while Larxene began to laugh, and laugh, and laugh until she had doubled over the table. But it was too late; the picture was ruined, along with three more. She curled herself into a ball and squeezed out a single tear.

Kairi was no longer in a cheery mood. She had never assumed that Naminé had a nice life, but she had never imagined this. Next to her, the current Naminé had curled into a ball as well. Unpleasant memories have a way of sticking and burning.

Larxene caught her breath and returned her gaze to Naminé with a broad and evil grin that seemed to widen her face to make room for itself.

"I did you a favor, you know. Can you imagine how angry Superior would be if he saw how lazy you are? If I wasn't so nice I would go tell him myself."

Namine sobbed and another tear escaped: salty, not sweet. She hid her face in her knees and Larxene snorted at her.

"And look!" Her demeanor was playful, like a little girl scolding a doll for holding its teacup wrong. "He'd come in here with his arms folded," she did exactly that and took exaggerated steps around Naminé's chair in an impression of masculinity. "And he'd say, 'what have you been doing Naminé?'"

"And then he'd take a look-" she picked up the notebook and examined one of the destroyed pictures. "-at your work and shake his big head. 'Naminé," he'd say. 'This is worthless to us.'" Larxene tossed the notebook at the younger girl's face and sneered again. "Do you even _want_ your heart back?"

Naminé nodded with another sob.

"Oh really? Prove it to me."

Naminé peeked red eyes over her perfectly white table, chair, knees and dress to mumble, "I can't."

Larxene shook her head with distatse, but she had planned it that way.

"I suppose I'll have to prove it to myself, then."

Naminé seemed alarmed at that, and unfurled herself enough to scoot her chair away. But Larxene only had to take gracefully small steps to follow her.

"We'll make a game out of it, too. Every time you draw too slowly, or you draw too ugly, or yo udraw too fast," Larxene summoned kunais to her knuckles, "I'll have to hurt you. After all, games have losers. And every time you draw correctly, I won't hurt you." Naminé had backed her chair into the wall, only inches from Kairi and the current Naminé sat. "Too bad you didn't draw pretty enough this time."

She drew a fist back and had it arrested at the elbow by a keyblade. She tugged it forward to strike, and then jerked her head around to see Roxas holding the weapon at arm's length.

"That's enough."

Larxene's sneer climbed over all of her features and defined ugliness just as starkly as she had shown beauty before.

"Excuse me?"

"Stop bothering her."

With a crazed shriek she turned to strike at Roxas with the other hand. He blocked with another keyblade and ducked left to dodge a kick that might have taken his head off before making a strike of his own at her head. Larxene hadn't seen it coming, and took the teeth of the key full on her stunned cheek. Silence echoed off of the walls until Roxas added to it with his voice.

"Go find something better to do."

Larxene pointed her Kunai laden fist and Roxas took a defensive stance.

"You don't give me orders twer-"

"Xemnas does, and I don't think he'd be pleased to hear that you've been interrupting Naminé's work or assaulting the Key of Destiny. We're his favorites, you know."

Larxene was on the verge of another attack, but she wasn't stupid, and soon found herself trudging through a corridor of darkness, leaving them behind.

"Are you alright?"

Namine jumped in her seat in surprise, and then lowered her gaze to the floor again.

"It's alright. You don't have to worry about her."

Namine moved uncomfortably in her seat, then lifted her head just enough to see Roxas face. She gave him a meek smile, which he didn't return.

"You're... Naminé?"

She nodded.

"You're... you are a nobody, right?"

She nodded again.

"Why don't you have a robe?"

She thought about it, and mumbled, "I'm just a witch."

"Oh."

He stood there, awkwardly, with nothing to say while she could only do the same. But suddenly courage welled up inside of her and she opened her mouth to ask his name, or to thank him, or do anything but leave the opportunity for friendship unexploited. A portal opened in the wall and Axel stepped out of it, so Naminé returned her gaze to the floor promptly, without uttering a single word.

"Talk about Pissed with a capital P. Larxene is tearing up another one of Vexen's clones."

He paused and put a hand to his chin. "Can't say I blame her, actually. Those things are kinda' creepy."

Roxas said nothing while Axel looked around the room and saw Namine sitting in her chair quietly.

"What're you doin' in here?"

Roxas was caught off guard by the question. He didn't know.

"I... uh-"

Axel looked from Roxas to Namine, and then back again. A smile crept to his face.

"You little devil. Come on, we've gotta' kill some heartless."

Axel opened another portal and dragged Roxas through it, patting him on the back.

The scene faded away and was replaced by Twilight Town again, where Kairi was at a loss for words and Naminé humbly stared at the ground.

"Well... that was It," she said.

Kairi nodded. This was not a side of life she had seen before. It wasn't romantic at all.

"Next time you saw him... did he say more?"

Namine shook her head. "I don't think there's time left to show you."

"Why not?"

The hour hand on the clock tower struck the number seven and the bell began to chime.

"Bzzzzt. Bzzzzt. Bzzzzt."

Princess eyes batted as Kairi joined the land of the waking and slapped her hand on the alarm clock next to her. She rolled onto the floor with every intention of going back to sleep on it until she remembered that she might be grounded for unlady-like behavior again. With a muttered growl, and a primal effort, she stood to her feet and gazed out the window at a sunrise that restored her completely. It was the beautiful golden eye of serenity, a window into energy that brought the smell of life to her nostrils. She promptly closed the window shades. She was the mayor's daughter after all; she couldn't just be seen wandering around in her pajamas.

"Now then. What to wear?"

Several hours later, Kairi had settled for a pink mini-dress over a white mini-dress and was descending the stairs to the main hall of her father's mansion with every intention of turning into the kitchen and watching the on-duty chef cook an omelet.

She was distracted, however, by what had happened overnight. Apparently someone, and a lot of their friends, had spent the entire celebration making art dedicated entirely to the adventures of Sora, Riku, and herself. and now every single fresco, statue, portrait, and drawing had a place in the entryway. She walked the length of one wall in wonder, examining oil paintings of insurmountable odds, overpowering darkness, and tributes to the trickery of the heart. At the end of the hall, she circled around a statue that captured casualty in its entirety. The front was of Sora and Kairi reclining against rubble with Goofy and Donald to their sides, while Riku stood on top, leaning against the remains of a stone angel. Their faces were complacent, tired, but not defeated. She continued around the piece and followed the other wall to the end, taking in pictures of light that never goes out, of underdogs coming out on top, and of dragons falling under the power of the keyblade.

Her stomach rumbled as she finished her viewing, and it promptly dragged her to the kitchen where she could watch food perform acrobatics while it was being cooked. But halfway through the Archway of Culinary Delights she was stopped by what might have been a battering ram hitting the front door. A previously unseen servant stepped forward and opened it in time to admit an airborne Sora, who rolled as he hit the ground and came up swinging hard enough to take downa portrait of Xehanort and shake loose several heartless as well. He watched them fall to the ground awkwardly and then looked around for anything that actually needed smashing. Kairi's oh-so-cute confusion didn't fit the bill as well as it played into the art around them.

"Sora?"

He smiled to match her and ran a hand through his hair nervously.

"Uh... yeah?"

Her lower lip hid behind pearly white teeth while she looked at the paintings.

"I think... you broke the art."

A frame toppled over onto its face in agreement. With splinters and canvas lying next to its corpse Sora was in no position to argue, as if he could lie to Kairi.

"Sorry. I uh... had a bad dream."

Kairi frowned. "Did a giant Paopu monster try to eat you again?" She teased.

"That hasn't happened since I was five."

Sora looked at the debris awkwardly. "Uh... I should clean that up."

Kairi shook her head. "No, wait! Watch this."

She pulled a small bell from her pouch and rang it excitedly. Nothing happened. Sora looked at the bell, then at the art, then back at the bell.

"Kai-"

"Shhh! Wait."

A servant appeared with a broom and a dustpan, much to Sora's amazement.

"That's so cool!"

Kairi bounced with glee. "I know, right? Hey, have you had breakfast yet?"

"No?"

"Oh my gosh! Okay, come on. You have to see the chef. He throws stuff in the-."

A small square on the wall came to life and cut her off. "Kairi, dear?"

She pushed a button on it and answered, "yes, Daddy?"

Sora's eyes nearly popped out of his head at the sight of the in-house intercom.

"Sora's mother just called. Is he here?"

"Yeah."

"Oh. I have to call her back. She's very worried. Make yourself at home in the meantime, Sora."

He waved at the box as it went silent. "Okay."

"Sora? What's wrong?"

"She's gonna' kill me."

* * *

**.The crystal ball, fickle as ever, turns its eye.

* * *

**

In the plaza of the city, a vendor opened his portable cart to confused patrons.

His sign sign read: Paopu- 500 munny.

* * *

**.And again the ball finds a more interesting fragment.

* * *

**

A figure stood inside Central Station, Twilight Town, awaiting the arrival of a purple train that would supposedly take him to the greatest sorcerer ever. His patience could belong to a Nobody, but the cloak made that uncertain. Patience was plentiful in Twilight Town anyway. As long as the sunset wasn't hurried, why would anyone else be? A train pulled into the station that was distinctly un-purple and the figure muttered "frak."

There wouldn't be any magical trains showing up. He stared at the regular one for a while and eventually decided on buying ice-cream for the local kids in order to loosen their tongues a bit more before giving up. He leaned off of the wall and walked straight into the disciplinary committee.

"Loitering comes with a two-hundred munny fine around here," Seifer sneered.

The figure nodded and went on the offensive. "You juvies don't beat it and I'm gonna have to collect."

Seifer pointed a struggle bat at him. "I'm thinkin' you're the one who pays us. Or should we add a fine for resisting?"

The figure reached a hand into his pocket and dug around as if for cash. It came out with a baton.

"What's the fine for three counts of assault and battery on minors?"

Fuu slid into her discrete fighting stance and said, "Four." She wasn't going to sit out anything.

The figure considered that carefully, and was about to speak again when Vivi shouted out, "twenty-thousand three hundred and fifty munny or up to ten years incarceration!"

They all gave him an annoyed glance, which was enough for the figure to escape.


	5. Plans in Motion

* * *

It doesn't take long for you to notice Riku's fascination with fitness, as demonstrated by his morning routine of 100 push-ups, 200 sit-ups, 50 Cromwells, a treadmill 2k, ten minutes of planks, 100 leg-lifts, more push-ups, pull-ups, and finally some jumping jacks. When he's done, the crystal ball turns its eye to the least captivating wall in existence, and you realize that Riku has gone off to take a shower. Several minutes later, the wall still does nothing. You find yourself growing distracted just as Master Yen Sid sighs, "It does this sometimes."  
Riku finishes up, dresses, and walks out the door, but still the crystal ball seems far more concerned with the wall. It isn't clear why until a dark oval appears and spits out an orchestra consisting of one Nobody and several Shadows.

* * *

The rustle of a cloak and whoosh of a pipe were accompanied in the wind section by claws shredding air, and percussion was in no way minor as it was equally supplied by the splintering of wooden end tables and the shattering of glasses. The strings were, admittably, improvised out of necessity when the chance was taken to use an electrical cord to wrap around the neck of a heartless. It's comrade was clotheslined in the process, bringing out the bass clef for the darker under-tones of the song.

After only a few measures, the room fell silent again, much to the pleasure of the undamaged things. It was not yet the hour of their untimely end. The cloaked figure that had emerged from the wall searched through several drawers, but ultimately decided on muttering "frakking train" under his breath and sneaking out of the building.

* * *

**.The Crystal ball distorts into an image of Riku.

* * *

**

"Wow."

The sun hadn't risen yet, which was why Riku had only just realized that the autumn leaves covering the ground and piling in heaps were actually trash.

The entire city was completely, utterly, and disgustingly, covered in disposables and debris from the longest party in all of recorded history. The Heartless couldn't have done an even remotely equitable amount of damage. He kicked a cardboard keyblade out of his path and took a turn away from a street busy with city workers sorting piles of recyclables and burnables. They'd be there for a while.

He strolled past closed shops and flats with stained windows, doors with dents in them, shredded banners, pools of alcohol, fields of confetti, loose animals, used fireworks, discarded Heartless costumes, and every other thing that could possibly say, "here lies the greatest after-party ever." Such a party would have been ridiculous even on Yuletide Hill. He pondered a map in his head, trying to find a place that would be undamaged, and eventually decided on the islet. Without land access, only the truly unruly would have visited there, and soon found themselves bored enough to return. Riku pivoted on his heels and walked back to the plaza to take the route to the offshore playground. He left the street for a plaza with a trashed gazebo in the center, and stopped abruptly. Something was wrong. Perhaps that was relative, but the contrast merited attention. He swiveled around to get a 360 view of his surroundings and sniffed the air for a darkness that should be nowhere near its strength. A glance down a side street told him the city workers were gone, and then the alarm bells rang in his head. A couple years of action/adventure hadn't taught him nothing. He ducked behind a bush and called Way to Dawn to his hand, sniffing the air again.

His head jerked left. Something was definitely there, and it was nearby. It- She- appeared from behind a pile of trash.

Maleficent seemed to glide across the plaza as if she and her two cloaked flunkies owned it. Riku noted with distaste a brood of heartless janitors that was following closely behind them. They looked just like Shadows, but almost attached to the mops, brooms, and other assorted cleaning tools they carried. Pete was absent, along with Maleficent's raven, Diablo. Without them, she seemed even less trustworthy.

She found a spot on the ground that seemed relatively clear and waited while she tracked something with her eyes; a cat might watch a mouse the same way. The two flunkies in organization robes were fidgeting the entire time and looking like rookie criminals trying to sell drugs, but Riku wasn't so concerned as with Maleficent.

He took a look around the plaza and saw the other person, a vendor, whom she had been watching. He stopped in front of her, all business, and made no objection when Maleficent touched her staff to his throat and commanded, "speak, Diablo."

"All is well, milady. The body has been disposed of and I have adopted the identity of a Mr.-"

She held up a hand to stop him.

"Here."

She snapped her fingers and a bag appeared in her hands. Diablo took it and began loading his cart with whatever was inside (the crystal ball didn't seem to care).

Maleficent smirked then, and turned her gaze to a certain bush by the gazebo.

"We used to be such good friends, you and I."

Riku stood from his hideout with his Keyblade at his side. The wasn't much point hiding from the flunkies.

"I guess we can smell each other from a mile away."

She nodded curtly. "No. I already knew you would be here."

Riku said nothing, but checked his surroundings again.

Maleficent smiled at the gesture. "I want you to come with me."

"Why's that?" He tensed into a fighting position with his sword hand back and his weight rested easily upon his back leg.

Maleficent faced her staff towards the center of the plaza where a gazebo stood in relative harmony. It collapsed (even more) and became a great hole in the earth from which Heartless began pouring through. Swathes of darkness staked claims around it aggressively, and the beings it produced were the familiar clawed shadows that knew no mercy. But they waited at the very brim of the darkness for their master's command.

"You wouldn't want to lose your home again, would you?"

She held up a very small key chain charm, Oathkeeper, or a remarkable forgery.

"That portal will only close if you can activate this, you know. If you and your little brat friends had the foresight to close the keyhole earlier, I wouldn't be able to do this. But instead it was just a simple matter of conveying the duty of guarding the world's heart to this little charm and then..."

She trailed off suggestively as she tossed it into the hole.

"You want me to believe that you stole that from Sora? It's a fake!" Riku chuckled inwardly, despite Maleficent's confidence.

"Kairi kept it ever so accessible to me in an unlocked jewelry cabinet."

Riku was suddenly very serious. He had forgotten that Sora had returned it to her.

"So why didn't you just take Kairi?"

Riku wasn't stupid, and Maleficent wasn't the only thing that went bump in the night. That made her frown rather sourly.

"I wasn't the one who stole it. Darkness doesn't always need to be provoked, you know."

The Heartless ranks were growing rapidly, but Riku ignored them and leveled his eyes with maleficent. "I'm not going to play your games."

She hid her worry and smiled ever wider.

"Good. Games are for children." She snapped her fingers and disappeared in a flash of green flames as the Heartless horde attacked.

Riku pounced the nearest thing he saw and began flinging dark auras all around him, trying to impeded the wall of black claws that was shredding outward.

It wasn't so much a fight as a test of numbers versus a lack of consideration for collateral. After an hour or so, numbers began to wane, and the hole adapted its strategy with Neoshadows, which were slightly taller. Riku scoffed as he swiped hard, fast, and randomly, bringing down five of the creatures. Several hits later, he was at the brim of the entryway, playing Bop-a-Heartless. And after that, he was alone, save the not-as-sneaky-as-they-think flunkies. He ducked a bo staff and hopped to the other side of the hole to avoid getting pushed in while the other flunkie threw an abacus at him to no effect. There wasn't anything impressive about the ancient calculator. Riku was on his feet fast, and he dropped his center of gravity as the two flunkies hopped over the hole after him. He gave them numbers as they landed. One had the staff and Two had the abacus. He lunged for One, on the left, and faked a strike to get past the block for his real hit. One fell hard while Riku ignored the abacus bouncing off his head to ram Two, knocking her to the ground. He turned and kicked at One's head, knocking him over as well, and suddenly had his foot jerked from under him. Riku hit the ground hard and blinked. No room for thinking could usually be found in a fight, but the unexpected needed a second thought. A tug at his ankle sent him struggling away from the hole, the direction he was being pulled, and he realized with a shock that a massive arm, like that of a Darkside, was what had him. He struck at the fingers, and might have freed himself, but Two got back up and was pushing against his back. He hit her off and was dragged several more feet. Again his attempts to hit the hand were foiled, this time by One's staff against his head. Two put her weight back into it and he was over the hole, into the darkness, and out of the fight.

Without the conflict, nature tried chirping timidly, and found it safe enough to employ full birdsong and the swaying of palm leaves in the wind. Peace had resumed at such an unusual pace that it seemed war didn't really exist except as a bad dream.

One, Blaxe, helped up the other flunkie.

"You alright, Lexillie?"

She laughed. "We got him!"

"Well..." Blaxe pushed his hood down and ran a hand through his hair. "I think the odds were in our favor this time."

He was right to assume luck, but Lexillie pushed her hood back to reveal a still broad grin. "But we won! We can fight!"

"Ha!"

They turned to see a third figure standing just beside them, as casually as if he'd been waiting for several minutes. He kicked Blaxe's legs out and pushed him into the portal while simultaneously grabbing the other Nobody's hair and dragging her to the ground.

"You juvies couldn't fight a frakking grox unless its legs were tied."

"You!"

He tugged Lexillie's head in the direction of the portal.

"Where's this lead?"

"What?"

"Where does the portal go?"

She shook her head. "Don't hurt me!"

Nature hid her birds again while Lexillie's head was jerked a second time.

"Where does the portal go?"

"I don't know! Where'd you come from?"

He peeked around the square at the closed shops, looking for witnesses.

"Where are we right now?"

She looked around the square for a sign, but he jerked her head again, keeping her focused.

"The world. What's the world called?"

"Destiny Islands."

"Why are you here?"

She hesitated, and he jerked her head again, making her yelp. "Lie; see what happens."

"There are people with keyblades here. That's all I know."

Her accoster released his grip and pushed her away.

"How many?"

She scrambled to answer, not wanting to get on his bad side.

"Two- three. Three. The one we pushed in the hole and two more."

He appeared to eye her suspiciously from under his hood.

"And you have no idea where the hole goes?"

"No."

He shifted his gaze down it, and then back to her. "Well?"

She inched her way toward it cautiously.

"Hop in."

She jumped without a second thought. She knew full well that the other side would be safe, at least for her and her lover, so the third figure followed suit. He didn't need to be bothered with kids or keyblades, and he certainly didn't need to be in a backwater town if he was going to find a "long rage teleportation spell."

* * *

Master Yen Sid is even more disturbed than you had seen him before, and just as you realize this he even shifts his weight uncharacteristically.

"Is something wrong?" you ask. He looks you in the eye without a word, and then stands from his chair. You stand as well, and feel immediately dizzy. You haven't moved for a while either.

"Please," he says. "Stay, and make yourself comfortable. I must step out for a little while."

You nod, not wanting to disagree with the great sorcerer, but regret it as soon as he twirls his wand and disappears. Maybe it's just your imagination, but the tower, and everything in it, seems alive. And now that the master is gone, everything is eying you suspiciously. you sink back into your seat and wonder where he could possibly have to go, or how he knew he had to go there, and the crystal ball responds as if it read your mind. It swirls, twirls, and becomes a pearly white throne room.

* * *

Her majesty, Minnie Mouse, inclined her head to master Sid as a greeting, which he met with a slow and deep bow.

"Is something the matter Master Sid?"

He nodded. "Riku is in grave danger."

"Is there any chance of the king helping?"

"He is at a distant world, one which was very recently consumed by darkness."

* * *

Your jaw drops as you realize that the story you're being told is happening in the moment, but you don't have time to think about it before the ball scries another relevant event.

* * *

"Mayday, mayday. Anyone out there?"

Donald touched a key on his console and quacked, "This is Highwind. Uh... hello?"

"Oh boy are we glad to hear from you Highwind. Our ship's hurt bad and we're low on O2. Think you could give us a hand?"

Donald peeked at King Mickey for approval, and then set to work navigating the debris that used to be a world. They had finally reached the star that went out; a planet in actuality, but it had sparkled in the sky nonetheless. With any luck, the survivors would know what had extinguished it.

"Ahyuk. Whaddya' guys think could do this? I thought we were pretty thorough with Sora."

King Mickey scratched his chin as he leaned to one side, looking more like the commander of a Battle Cruiser or a Dreadnought than a simple scout gummi like the Highwind model they were in. Goofy wasn't usually the deep thinker, but he was right. The heartless were in no position to be destroying worlds at their current strength unless they had serious help. But what aside from Heartless could destroy worlds?

Their view after rounding the next piece of space junk was the answer, and three jaws dropped in unison.

"It's a trap! Donald, get us out of here!"

The duck was quick to comply by turning back around, but they'd already given away their position when they radioed back to the ever-so-clever Heartless that had hailed them. They whisked around meteors, narrowly missing some, until they got clear of the bulk of the debris, and, unfortunately, clear of the cover. Mickey leaned forward and ordered, "Dash!"

Donald peeked to his radar and shook his head. "We can't, your majesty. We're still in the gravity well. We could end up anywhere!"

A beep from his console sent him into a panic. "Incoming!"

They were pelted just then from small, medium, large, and ordinance class fire over the course of an uninterrupted ten second barrage, knocking them about the cabin and sending sparks and shrapnel into space while the vessel itself was battered and even turned all the way around. Goofy's ears drooped considerably when it was over.

"Our shields are gone!"

"Engine damage!"

Quite frankly, anywhere was a lot better than anywhere near the creature with Xehanort's seal on it. Mickey jumped forward and slammed his fist on the dash button.

* * *

**For those of you who don't know: **

**Cromwells are jumpies. Just crouch like you're doing a squat and then jump as high as you can. Repeat 200 times if you can, but only if you don't have to walk for the next three days.  
**

**A gravity well is the area around a planet where gravity seriously distorts space. If you warp, dash, phase, or otherwise manipulate space in it, the results are unpredictable.**


	6. Success, Failure, and

**

* * *

**

"Leon? Your majesty?"

Squall took his weight off of the wall and leaned it against Tron's console instead. He nodded to King Mickey.

"We're here, Tron."

"Extremely luckily," Mickey added. The dash drive had spit him out right over Hollow Bastion, giving Mickey the impression that someone was looking out for him. "What do you have for us?"

Tron pretended to clear his throat.

"Ahem. I've finished defragmenting the files you requested. Some of the data was corrupted beyond repair, but eighty-six percent is intact."

Windows began opening on the screen as Tron continued speaking.

"It is of interest that the files were repeatedly accessed both before and after the approximate date that Ansem the Wise was replaced by Xehanort."

A window with a time-use log corroborated before he moved on.

"The original entries made during Ansem's time concern the details of an artificially created heartless, an Emblem Heartless."

A window opened containing notes and sketches of exotic weapons.

"It was a super-machine of sorts, similar to Shinra's bipedal Metal Gear project in that it was intended to be laden with weapons and armor of every specialization without sacrificing mobility or logistics capability. It-"

Mickey cut him short and asked for a picture.

"There are several jpegs and PDFs, but none could be recovered. There is a single text entry dated after Ansem the Wise left, however."

A new window opened to display an entry into a file labeled "PoH."

It read simply,

_Assimilation subroutine functional._

_Trial will demonstrate further._

_"Ansem" better know what he's doing._

Mickey frowned as tersely as the note. Whatever had attacked the Highwind had fit the bill of a super-weapon pretty well, but it was always better to the enemies for sure. Those pictures were the kind of surety he needed if he was going to make an informed decision.

"Continue," he sighed.

"Almost all of the entries created after the text file deal exclusively with a member of the Palace Guard."

A picture appeared of a young man with a military cut standing at attention for an official picture. Mickey noted the all-black cloak that the Organization had adopted as their uniform, and remembered his first visit to the kingdom with a pang of nostalgia. He had passed within several feet of so many of Ansem's personal escorts and adopted students that he had almost certainly met the majority of his future enemies in a single night. And now there was another person to add to the list.

Leon squinted at the image.

"He looks familiar. What's his name?"

Tron made another throat clearing noise, which only annoyed them.

"Hak. His name was purged from all official records along with all state-issued identification upon his reassigning to a clandestine program."

Mickey's frown deepened. "A Super Heartless and an elite soldier in the same file. How are they related, and why was Xehanort so interested in them?"

Leon shook his head. "Tron, I was here a few days ago looking through outdated arrest warrants and APBs. Could you bring them up again?"

"Of course. One moment."

The computer hummed and Mickey gave Leon a worried stare.

"You recognize him from arrest warrants?"

Leon mumbled, "maybe."

The computer hum died away and Tron faked a thinking noise.

"Hmm. I've compiled a list of every picture you looked at, but there are over two-hundred of them. There is good news though. The pictures were drawn by a computer program rather than by hand."

Leon wasn't so sure. "How is that good news?"

"The computer used adjectives as its data to draw features. If you describe him with some, I can sort them by relevance."

It was the best they had to go on, so Leon tried, "Military."

"Twenty matches."

Mickey tilted his head as he looked at the picture again.

"Average weight."

"Twenty matches."

Leon tried, "Athletic."

"Twenty matches."

"Military kinda' covers that," the king added.

They thought in silence until Mickey said, with a slight tremor in his voice, "Harmless?"

"Two matches."

Both appeared on screen. One they recognized instantly. Tron continued.

"Both individuals were sought out for the same crimes. It is possible that they were the same person."

He wasn't great at telling digital faces apart unless they had signatures, and he had guessed wrong. The two figures were certainly different people.

Mickey covered his mouth and, with low expectations, mumbled, "Crimes?"

Tron, cheerful as ever, read off the list.

"Collectively, they were wanted for four counts of attempted murder, four counts of corporate espionage, twenty counts of extortion, Twenty counts of breaking and entering, Twenty-four counts of kidnapping, twelve counts of domestic terrorism, Twenty-four counts of battery upon a minor, twelve counts of petty theft, twelve counts of destruction of property, twenty counts of arson, fifty-four counts of sexual harassment, and ninety-two counts of disturbing the peace."

Leon folded his arms. "No kidding."

* * *

**.The crystal ball shifted to a kitchen****.

* * *

**

A pancake fell out of the sky and soon found itself bound upward again. Sora and Kairi watched with interest as it pulled off a full three-hundred and sixty degree rotation. The Chef caught it and yet again it was flying through the air, this time attempting a triple back-flip. The pancake landed again, only for a moment, and upped the ante as it began a triple back-flip-360-barrel roll. By the time it ended up on their plates, they were positive that it had died of fright, and would therefore have no objection to being cut up and eaten, just like its also-acrobatic soul mate, which was on Sora's plate. They feasted together the way only old friends and new lovers can, talking with their mouths full and laughing so hard they cried. Why not? They'd cried for every other reason before.

Later, in the town, they had calmed. The morning got the best of them, so they started the day with Kairi's window shopping and Sora's head scratching. The pavement gave way to a cobblestone path decorated with every sort of shop for the cosmopolitan. They browsed and tested, queried and fitted, and tried on sillier articles for amusement until it was time to spend some money on the closest thing to sea-salt ice cream they could find. Paopu Slushies were not in short supply, and the cobblestone paths had nowhere else to lead in Destiny Islands. But of so many places to find a drink, it seemed that maybe, just maybe they would have found a safe one. Or at least found one other than the cart that sat easily in reach by a recently repaired gazebo.

* * *

**.qp.

* * *

**

Diablo knew how to catch an eye. Where he learned, he couldn't say, but he knew how. A tilt of his head just so, a flick of the eyes, just a little bit of will, and... there they were. Sora and Kairi changed their course and came straight to him, trusting fully in his name tag, which actually belonged to the salesman he was wearing. They were smiling and laughing about something that wouldn't matter in a moment. Ah, youth.

"Paopu Slushies, anyone?"

Sora paid him to die with several munny- a fitting end for a fool- and the two of them took the drinks they were given without question. Diablo couldn't resist getting a little excited. The honor of killing with ease the same child that had defeated so many before was one to be cherished. He would remember the moment for his whole life. But only if it worked. Diablo refrained from licking his lips.

"What should we drink to?" Sora asked.

Kairi sighed. "The heat?"

Sora laughed. "Good enough."

They clanked their cups together, knocked their heads back with uncouth giggling, and for a tense moment only chugged. It was hot, after all, and Diablo watched with contained professionalism as they gulp, gulp, gulped it all down.

"Wow there, kids. Don't drown yourselves!"

They ignored him, and for a moment he worried that they might not have enough. Sora and Kairi came up for air and licked their lips clean. Diablo's mind blanked. "Want some more?"

"No, thanks!" Sora blurted. "That hit the spot pretty well." He handed his cup back and reached for Kairi's. "How about you Kairi?"

She had just enough time to frown before her stomach knotted up and doubled her over onto the pavement.

Diablo chuckled and gave Sora a wink. "If you say so."

Sora gaped at him, or maybe his jaw went slack, and he joined Kairi as a heap, still as the grave, head cracking on the cobblestone unpleasantly. Diablo smirked to himself.

"Brains always beat brawn."

He walked into a nearby alley before anyone took notice of the fallen heroes and, with a hop and a shake, he was out of his skin and airborne.

* * *

**.qp.

* * *

**

You feel a brush as the air in the room is disturbed. Master Yen Sid has returned, and he takes his seat before you have time to look up.

"Master Yen Sid! They-"

You gesture wildly at the crystal ball.

"And this is all happening now! You didn't tell me that!"

He shrugs, majestically as usual. "What have I missed?"

Trying to match his casual tone, but without wanting to seem careless, you get a hold of yourself (suddenly remembering as well that you yelled at him) and reply, "The keybearers drank a potion."

He stares at the crystal ball, which is showing Sora and Kairi's crumpled forms on the ground.

"Hmm."

He leaves it at that, like it's not a problem.

"Sir?"

"Do not worry so much. I'm sure something will come up."

The crystal ball begins to shift and he adds, "Ah. Here we are."

In the new image, a doctor, complete with stethoscope and white lab coat, and two EMTs, complete with uniforms and a potion bottle each are taking a walk along a cobblestone road. The three of them are chatting about how lucky they are to have stumbled across two elixirs.

Your jaw slacks considerably and you eye Master Cid with suspicion.

"Did you make that happen?"

He shakes his head. "No. That kind of thing happens on its own around the keybearers."

* * *

**.Your mind steps into the orb and you watch with interest.

* * *

**

"Maybe it's my lucky day, huh?"

"It happens, I suppose."

The doctor held out an open hand. "Here, let me see."

They turned into an alleyway while he examined the bottle.

"It's high quality glass," he mused. "Someone might want this back."

The male EMT took it back.

"Whatever happened to finders keepers?"

The doctor shrugged. "Police happened."

They chuckled and exited the alleyway into a plaza with a recently repaired gazebo and-

"Doctor! Look!"

The trio of health experts ran to the keybearers' sides and traded glances. One of the EMTs held up an elixir.

"Two and two? Coincidence anyone?"

The doctor crouched down and took Kairi's pulse while the other EMT did the same with Sora. They traded grim looks and he said, "Give one here."

He pressed it to Kairi's lips, and again the other EMT mimicked on Sora. When the potions were done, they backed away and waited. A crowd had gathered by now, and the air was tense, silence almost at hand save for murmured questions and askew glances at the doctor.

"Will they be alright? What's happening?"

The medics didn't answer, and were about to lose faith in their potions when Sora suddenly shrieked and shot up, fully awake, swinging his keyblade at phantoms. The crowd gave him all the room he needed with a gasp.

"Feeling alright?" The doctor quipped.

Sora blinked at the white coat and turned to Kairi without answering.

"Kairi? Hey!" Hey pointed his blade at the doctor.

"What happened? The slushies…"

He swiveled around to see the unmanned cart behind him, then rounded on the doctor again.

"Why isn't Kairi awake?"

"Sora?"

Kairi sat up slowly, not nearly as vexed. Her hair settled into place nicely and her posture restored itself instantly, but her brow stayed furrowed, like it was wrestling a headache.

"I don't feel so good."

Sora's hand raced the doctor, and he helped her up to her feet, where she swayed unsteadily. All the beauty in the world wasn't helping her features in the face of an obvious malaise, and her eyes were wondering without relation to reality, not seeming to lock on anything.

"Kairi, are you alright?"

She turned her head to him and fell onto his shoulder.

"I want to go home," she said into his chest

The crowd parted instantly, fervor for the wellbeing of the local heroes getting the best of them. Sora wiped ice cold sweat from his brow, hiding his own terrible condition, and slung Kairi's arm over his shoulder.

"Don't worry about a thing, Kairi. We'll be there in no time."

She hummed an acknowledgement, and they set off with the crowd following them. The doctor was at their side instantly, and he dismissed the EMTs graciously.

"Enjoy your break. I'll be fine with the mayor's staff."

They nodded, and stood where they were, not sure what to do.

The crystal ball stayed as well, watching while they stared at the ground where Kairi and Sora had been inches from death only moments ago. Life and death, two sides of a coin, just around the corner of life. They mused over it quietly together until one, the man, asked.

"Someone poisoned them?"

The other EMT shook her head. "Dark times."

They kept staring at the ground, not sure why, but sure of something.

"Wait."

The woman took a sudden step back.

"Whoa."

"Why are their shadows still there?"

* * *

**Because that's an awesome way to end a chapter!**

**Leave a review if you agree.  
**


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